ESCALATION: Ukraine updates: Russia threatens Black Sea grain transport.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said it would consider all ships traveling to Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea as potential carriers of military cargo from midnight on Thursday morning Moscow time (2100 GMT on Wednesday), following the end of the Black Sea grain deal.

In a statement posted on the Telegram messenger app, the ministry said that it was declaring southeastern and northwestern parts of the Black Sea’s international waters as unsafe for navigation, and that the flag states of ships travelling to Ukrainian ports would be considered parties to the conflict on the Ukrainian side.

Moscow’s statement comes as Kyiv has urged other countries in the Black Sea region to intervene and assure the safe passage of cargo ships.

The “tanker war” during the Iran-Iraq War prompted Reagan to reflag Kuwaiti tankers as American, and basically dare either side to draw in the full weight of the US Navy, but I’m not sure the Navy is quite the deterrent that it once was, and I’m sure that Biden is no Reagan.